Single-wheel steering mechanism



June 6, 1950 w. c L 2,510,798

SINGLE-WHEEL STEERING MECHANISM Filed Dec 29, 1947 mmvroa W/LL/AM H CAH/LL Patented June 6, 1950 SINGLE-WHEEL STEERING MEoHAN-is w William inn-war joahill, oaklana, pane, ,as'si'gno'r 'jt'o "Antone ,Gus' Ta'ssano, Stockton, Calif. nppl'ieanonneeember 29, 19475SerialN0. "794,255

This invention relates -to "wheeled transport vehicles 'ofthei-type: capable of=bei-ng;propelled' by physical efiorts of the occupant.

"2 drains; (01. 280- 8101) An object of :the invention is :to provide 13,

vehicle of the itricyele type .iprovided .with propelling mechanism f-de'sigriedcto lee-operated with a minimum ofjphy's'ica'l astrainrenthe part of the vehicle occupant.

'Anotherfob'ject'tof the driventionuisi to provideea vehic e: o theycharacte lwith improved steering mechanism A furtherobject'ofithe invention is to provide a vehicle of thef'cl'a'ss referred towhi-ch although lightly constructed and capable of being-easily handled by': the" average:chiid, is sufficiently rugged to "bexused by adults andfto withstand considerable iabuse without snffe rlng destructive damage. a

The invention possesses other 'objec'tsaandfeatures of advantage,=some*of which; with the foregoing; 'will be setforth "in "the" followingrdescription of the 'prefer'red'form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing-:acc'ompanymg' and forming'part or; the specification. It .is tobe understood; however, that variations in "the showin'g made by the 'said "drawings rand description may beaddpted "within thes'cop'e 'of theirivention as set forth-in the claims.

Referringto the drawingz Figure 1 'is'aftopiplan yiewbf the chassis of the vehicle of my invention.

weare -2 -is--a- -:side e1evanona1 view of. the-structure'shown' iri-Fi'gur'e 1. V

Figure 3 is ail-"enlarged scale perspective view of the front portionoi the.vehicle" -showingthe steering mech 'a sm.

Figured is'I-a top plan view of the rear portion .of "the*chassis showing the application o'f-rp'owe'r drive mechanism to the vehicle. 1

In'ca'rrying out my "invention, I provide a.

chassis frame 6 preferably comprising a unit length of engieiron or-6tner-=s1iitab1e structural .2 ll. Ground-engaging wheels are fitted to the extended endsof the axle -9, one-wheel lz bein'g keyed or otherwisesecured to the axle to be rotated thereby and the other-whee1'l3 being journaled and free torotate on-the axle. -It is thus seen that the .wheel -I 2, in-response torotative torque in the axle 9;-may-efiect forward or rearward movement of the vehicle along the ground while -the wheel; l3,-- being-f ree to rotate independentlyof the axle; may advance or lag in rotation-relative to the axle when the veh-icle is travelling in a curvedrpath. This eliminates he peripheral slippageiwhich would oc'cur under -such conditions if ibothzwheels were secured to and; to rotate-in unison-.wi-ththe axle.

The forward portion of ,the ch assis is fitted with a single steering wheel [4, preferably ;of lesser diameter thamthe rear wheels t Z-and 13, which is disposed medially of the width of the frame and which is-jjournaled on an axle having extended end portions' lfi, and carried abyea vertically disposed steering fork H. The upper portion of the steering fork carries :an; axially vertical stud I'8fpas'sing through an -aperture 119 provided in theforward cross member 7 and also "passing through an axially aligned aperture formed in an arm :2! "spaced above the .cross member. A washer =22 and cotte'r'pin 23, fitted v:to the-stud'IB above the arm 2|, areprefeljably-provide'd for securing the stud against axialidisplace- 'ment downwardlyrelative to the ar'm 21am cross member I. The arm 2 l forms the for-ward exten- I sion of a'br'acket bar 24 having its downwardly depressed medial rportion overlying and. "secured by rivets 26 or other suitable means "to -an.'arm 21 formed integrally with or Welded-1701311601053 member 7 and extending rearwardly @f-romtne central p'ortion oftl'lelatter. The arm 21 is corbtinued rearwardly in downwardly directed portion 28 having at its lower end a horizontally disposed ear 29' having therein :an aperture. 3| providing 'a ljournal for the lower end of an axially vertical shaft 32. The shaft32 alsopasses "through and is journaled in the-.aperture'd rearward-extension 33 *of the' bracketbar' zt which extending forwardly of the vehicle and similarly secured for pivotal movement, by a pin 42 to a clevis 43 or the like formed at the outer end of each axle end portion l6. It will be seen that the occupant of the vehicle, who may be seated on the seat 44, may extend his legs so that his feet rest on the respective foot bars 37 and by pushing on alternate bars may cause the fork H to rock about its vertical pivotal axis thereby swinging the steering wheel ill to the right or left as desired and causing directed movement of the vehicle in the selected direction.

As an independent means of steering the ve-' hicle, for the accommodation of persons who may be short-legged, handicapped in the use of their legs or minus one or both legs, I provide an upward extension 4'6 of the shaft 32 to which is.

fitted a tubular socket 47 or the like for receiving the tapered end of a tiller bar 38 extending rearwardly of the vehicle to a position where it may be readily grasped by the occupant of the seat 44. By swinging the tiller bar to the right or left, a corresponding steering of the vehicle may be obtained.

I provide meanswhereby the vehicle may be powered b the physical efforts of the occupant so that the former may be made to travel forwardly or rearwardly at the selection of the ocbupant and at a rate proportionate to the degree of physical effort expended. Situated forwardly of the seat 44 and journaled at its'ends in bearings secured to the frame 6, is a rocker shaft disposed axially transversely of the frame and having secured at its center a rocker bar comprising a lever section 52 extending radially downwardly sfrom the rocker shaft and. a lever tongue 53 integral with the rocker lever and rising radially upwardly from the rocker shaft. The tongue 53 is provided with suitable bolts 54 or equivalent means for securing thereto an upwardl extending operating lever 55 to the upper end of which is attached a. twin-handled grip 51 disposed within reach of the vehicle occupant and arranged to be grasped by each of his hands. The lower end of the lever 52 is provided with an aperture 58 journaling the end of a connecting rod 59 which extends rearwardly cf the vehicle and which is provided at its rear end with .a'split collar 6| encircling and journaled on the crank pin portion of the rear axle crank II. It will be seen that as the operating lever 56 is rocked alternately forwardly and rearwardly, the axially oscillating connecting rod 59 will impart, through the crank i, rotative effort to the axle 9 with the result that the vehicle will be caused to move along the ground. The direction of movement, of course, may be selected by the vehicle occupant and depends upon which direction. he chooses to start rotation of the crank ll'.

InFigure 4 I have shown a modified form of vehicle drive. Here'the frame is provided with a platform 62 or the like positioned just forwardly of the rear axle 9 and carrying small single cylinder internal combustion engine 63 having a gear reduction and clutch mechanism 64 associated therewith, the power output shaft 66 of which is fitted with a. crank .67 connected by means of a suitable connecting rod 38 with the rear axle crank H. Thus as the shaft 65 is rotated at slow but adequate speed by the engine 63, the axle will be correspondingly rotated so as to move the vehicle. By means of a manamass ually actuated clutch control 69, the power of the engine 53 may be connected with or disconnected from the axle as desired by the vehicle occupant and by accelerating or decelerating the engine, variations in vehicle speed may be obtained.

Although the vehicle body forms no part of the structure of my invention, I have indicated the former by the dot-dash line H to show its relationship with the other parts of the vehicle structure.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle steering assembly, the combination which comprises a horizontally disposed chassis carried by wheels at the rear and having a transversely disposed strut therein spaced from the forward end, a king pin having a wheel receiving yoke on the lower end pivotally mounted in said strut and positioned on the longitudinal center of said chassis, an arm extended rearwardly from said strut and also positioned on the longitudinal center of said chassis, said strut having a rearwardly and downwardly extended brace with the lower end extended horizontally and positioned below the end of the arm, a steering post having a handle on the upper endijournaled in the extended ends of the arm and brace, a transversely disposed tie rod carried by the lower end of said post, an axle extended through the lower ends of the arms of the yoke of the king pin, a wheel in the yoke J'ournaled on the axle, and bars connecting the ends ofth'e axle towcorres-ponding ends of the tie rod.

2. In a vehicle steering assembly, the combinationwhic-h comprises a horizontally disposed chassis carried by wheels at the rear and having a transversely disposed strut therein spaced from the forward end, a king pin having a wheel receiving yoke on the lower end pivotally mounted in said strut and positioned on the longitudinal center ofifsaid chassis, said strut having an upwardly extended centrally disposed section to receive thei'lupper end of the yoke of the king pin, an ."arm having an upwardly extended forward end'wextended rearwardly from said strut and alsolpositioned on the longitudinal center of said chassis, said strut having a rearwardly andarms of the yoke of the king pin, a. wheel in the yoke journaled on the axle, and bars connecting.

the ends of the axle to corresponding ends of the tie rod.

WILLIAM HOWARD CAHILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Niunber Name Date 3,207 Crandall' Nov. 24, 1868 373,980 Horn Nov. 29, 1887 380,770 Schiermeyer Apr, 10, 1888 870,472 Schroeder Nov. 5, 1907 870,834 Lindley Nov. 12, 1907 1,363,214 Alexander I Dec. 28,1920 

